Online sexual abuse in the COVID-19 era: How can parents protect their child?

Author Nelly Polyzou

Published on: 28/01/2021

Sexual child abuse is a crime that can happen anywhere, both in person and online, and is related to many different factors.

An INTERPOL report showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic the online risks of sexual abuse have notably increased, as both children and adults spend more time online, while physical distancing has restricted contact and interaction between children and supportive adults, such as teachers.

Confinement measures have increased the amount of time children spend online for educational, entertainment and social purposes. As a result, they seek alternative ways of socializing through games, chats, social media, etc. whilst not necessarily being aware of the associated risks.

At the same time, according to Europol, offenders are exploiting the lockdown measures in order to target children online, while they continue to change their online environments in order to avoid police detection.

On the other hand, parents may have limited opportunities for effective control over their children when juggling work-from-home, their professional commitments and family. However, now that children have reduced access to guardians such as teachers, doctors and social services, parents’ role in protecting them from online abuse has become even more crucial. In order to do this, they must have access to proper information and formal trainings regarding child abuse prevention.

Can parents protect their child?

A research conducted under the Erasmus+ program STOP – “Stop Child Abuse Through Effective Training and Augmented Reality” in Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus showed a lack of proper awareness among parents regarding the different types of sexual abuse and the ways to prevent it. Parents get the majority of information about sexual abuse mainly from their peers and through informal means (ex. articles and research in internet), and secondly through trainings in schools or parents’ associations. As a result, they are not adequately informed on the subject. Even though they realize that internet access comes with risks, they cannot identify the types of risks that their child may face apart from being groomed on social media or through online chat.

But, what parents actually do to prevent child abuse? Research shows that, in order to protect their children, parents mostly use parental control functionalities and anti-virus systems to protect devices from external attacks. Secondly, some of them talk with their children about the risks of online sexual abuses.

While the role of school in providing such trainings is crucial, parents should not forget their own responsibility to protect and support their child. It is important to be alert, engaged and collaborate closely with teachers and youth workers in order to reduce the online risks of child abuse. Talking to their children about online safety, staying involved – by getting to know the websites, apps and games that their children use – and being alert to signs of distress are key steps in reducing these risks.